The present invention generally relates to microscopes. More particularly, this invention relates to a microscope with holographic imaging capabilities.
Microscopes have a multitude of applications with medical applications being an area where microscopes find wide use. For example, the microscopic viewing of tumors when treating a patient is quite common but is subject to limitations.
Tumors typically consist of cell types that may be differentially susceptible to therapeutic agents. Often recurrence occurs as a result of resistant cells selected as a consequence of treatment and subsequently proliferating. The ability to observe a fresh tumor and account for therapeutic effects qualitatively through visual observation could greatly enhance the selection of appropriate therapies.
Three dimensional (3D) tissue imaging is currently performed by multi-photon microscopy that require the sample to treated with fluorescent dyes. Accordingly, there is an ongoing desire for improved methods and apparatuses suitable for observing fresh tumors and account for therapeutic effects qualitatively through visual observation. Such methods and apparatuses would also prove useful in other applications.